This Fitness Trainer Admitted She Couldn’t Work Out During Her Pregnancy

Do you ever see those fitness models and influencers on Instagram proclaiming things like, “Oh, I worked out right up until delivery!” Or “I did squats while in labor–it's great for opening up that birth entryway!” And you kind of sort of want to chuck a bag of diapers at their head because you can barely move during your pregnancy?

Yup. Been there.

The truth is, not every woman has a picture perfect pregnancy that lets her exercise all the way through nine months. Some women face complications, some face excruciating morning sickness, some face fatigue so intense they can barely make it through the day, and some face plain old life with other kids and jobs and laundry that needs folding. Daily exercise just doesn't happen for every pregnant woman everywhere. So when fitness models and trainers–whose job, we should remember, is literally to work out–proclaim otherwise, it can be hard to hear.

Which is exactly why it's so refreshing to see a proclaimed fitness model and trainer admit that, you know what? She just couldn't work out throughout her pregnancy. And that was 100% OK.

Emily Skye, who runs the fitness Instagram account @emilyskyefit, where she posts workouts, meal plans, and “fitness inspiration,” kept followers updated on her journey through her pregnancy–including a confession that her fitness plans during pregnancy didn't exactly work out as she once thought they would. In a post she wrote right after she delivered her daughter, Mia, Skye detailed how complications such as sickness and back pain made it impossible even for her to walk. (Again, been there!!)

The new mom also admitted she gained 46 pounds, which is right on par with the 50 pounds I gained with all four of my kids, so I have to say I'm relieved that even a super fit person like Skye gained the same amount I did. (Because I didn't exercise a lick through any of my pregnancies.)

“My pregnancy was not how I thought it would be, I thought I’d be exercising regularly the whole way through but that did not happen as I was sick a lot of the time and had back pain that made it hard to just walk around the house,” she described in her post. I ended up gaining over 21kg during my pregnancy in fat, fluid, baby, placenta etc.”

Skye has continued to be open and honest about what her postpartum body journey has been too, which I think a lot of moms will appreciate. She hasn't shied away from posting real images of her body and how it looks, dark lines, poochy belly, and adorable baby in tow, of course.

In a recent post, she gushed about how “incredible” the human body is and how moms should feel proud of what their bodies accomplish through pregnancy and beyond.

“What we’re capable of absolutely blows my mind,” she wrote. “My body isn’t just supporting my own life but it grew a human – and still is! I’m so proud of what my body has done and continues to do for my precious daughter … Being a mother isn’t easy in many ways which I’m now starting to experience and the last thing I’m going to do is pressure myself to ‘bounce back' quickly or beat myself up because my body hasn’t returned to my pre-baby condition. It’s totally unrealistic for me to expect to ‘bounce back' from having my beautiful big belly to a flat and lean tummy in a short amount of time. I choose to celebrate my body and how incredible it is in any condition, shape (or size) and I choose to focus on being my best mentally and physically for my daughter Mia – and my priority definitely isn’t looking a certain way.”

Amen to that. Pregnant ladies of the world? Exercise if you can and it makes you feel good and keeps you healthy. But please, please don't beat yourself up if you can't physically work out every day for 9 months. It's only 9 months and the focus is on getting to delivery and recovering as best you can. Sometimes that means working out, but sometimes, it means just surviving. Pregnancy is so different for everyone and it's important we hear all sides of the story, even the less-than-glamorous ones.

EverydayFamily.com offers general information and is for educational purposes only. This information is not a substitute for professional medical, psychiatric or psychological advice. Nothing on this website should be taken to imply an endorsement of EverydayFamily.com or its partners by any person quoted or mentioned.

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